This invention relates to embossed two-ply paper products such as paper towels and bathroom tissue. More particularly, the invention relates to a embossing machine which can form embossments in either a nested or a foot-to-foot configuration.
Paper products such as paper towels and bathroom tissue are often formed from two plies of paper sheet material or webs. Such products are commonly formed on a rewinder line in which jumbo rolls of webs are unwound, perforated, and rewound into retail sized rolls. Many rewinder lines include an embosser for forming embossments in one or both of the webs.
When both webs are embossed, the embossments can be arranged in either a foot-to-foot configuration or in a nested configuration. U.S. Pat. No. 3,414,459 describes a foot-to-foot configuration. The embossments or projections of one of the webs are aligned with the embossments of the other web, and the embossments are typically glued together to form a laminated two-ply product.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,556,907 and 3,867,225 describe a nested embossed configuration. The embossments of one of the webs are positioned between the embossments of the other web so that the embossments of the two webs do not contact each other. Again, the webs are typically glued together.
Some manufacturers of paper products believe that both nested and foot-to-foot embossed products have certain advantages, and such manufacturers may make both nested and foot-to-foot products. However, different embossment patterns are generally used for nested and foot-to-foot products. Further, some nested products have a different embossment pattern for each ply.
Most embossing machines are dedicated machines which are configured to produce either nested embossments or foot-to-foot embossments but not both. Recently, some embossing machines have been produced which have the capability of being reconfigured in order to change from nested embossments to foot-to-foot embossments or vice versa. However, such reconfiguring requires substantial machine downtime and substantial labor. When the machine is reconfigured, the embossing rolls are changed because different embossing patterns are used.
Co-owned and co-pending United States patent application entitled "TWO-PLY PAPER PRODUCTS WITH EITHER NESTED OR FOOT-TO-FOOT EMBOSSMENTS AND METHOD OF MAKING," Ser. No. 09/134,694, filed August 14, 1998, describes embossing patterns which can be used to produce either nested or foot-to-foot embossments. The same embossing pattern is engraved on both embossing rolls, and the same embossing rolls can be used to produce both nested and foot-to-foot embossments.